Dontel
A masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly a blend of "Don" and "Tel".
Name Census estimates that about 201 living Americans carry the first name Dontel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dontel today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dontel births was 1996 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dontel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
201
~ 1 in 1,705,245 Americans
Peak year
1996
19 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2008 SSA rank
#13,051
Tracked since 1976
Census
Dontel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 201 people with the first name Dontel, which placed it at #38,294 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#38,294
National first-name rank
People counted
201
201 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dontel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dontel is Black at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and White (3.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Dontel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Dontel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.6% · 172
- Two or more races6.5% · 13
- White3.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2
Popularity
Dontel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dontel from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 109 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dontel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dontel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dontel
The given name Dontel has its origins in the Gaulish culture of ancient France, dating back to the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Proto-Celtic root "dontos," meaning "tooth" or "tusk," possibly referring to a prominent physical feature or a symbolic association with strength and resilience.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dontel can be found in the Gaulish inscriptions discovered in the region of modern-day Burgundy, France. These inscriptions, carved into stone tablets, suggest that the name was used by the aristocratic warrior class within the Gaulish tribes.
During the Roman conquest of Gaul in the 1st century BCE, the name Dontel gained some recognition among the Roman legions, as they encountered and interacted with Gaulish warriors bearing this name. However, its usage remained predominantly confined to the Gaulish territories and did not spread significantly throughout the Roman Empire.
In the Middle Ages, the name Dontel resurfaced in various regions of present-day France, particularly in the northern provinces. It is believed that the name was carried forward by descendants of the ancient Gauls, who maintained their cultural traditions despite the Roman and subsequent Frankish invasions.
Notable historical figures who bore the name Dontel include Dontel de Montfort (1160-1218), a French nobleman and military leader who played a significant role in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France. Another prominent individual was Dontel d'Arcy (1325-1389), a French knight and diplomat who served under King Charles V during the Hundred Years' War with England.
In the 16th century, Dontel Leclerc (1510-1572), a French Protestant theologian and scholar, gained recognition for his translations of biblical texts and his contributions to the Reformation movement in France.
Moving forward, Dontel Duvergier (1680-1745), a French jurist and legal scholar, made significant contributions to the development of French civil law through his influential treatises and commentaries.
Lastly, Dontel Lacroix (1795-1867), a French explorer and naturalist, is notable for his expeditions to the Caribbean and South America, where he documented numerous previously undescribed plant and animal species.
While the name Dontel has maintained a modest presence throughout French history, its usage has become increasingly rare in modern times, with many preferring more contemporary variations or alternative names.
People
Dontel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dontel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dontel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dontel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 201 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dontel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,705,245 US residents.
Is Dontel a common name?
We classify Dontel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 208 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dontel most popular?
The single biggest year for Dontel was 1996, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dontel is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dontel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 201 people with the name Dontel, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,294 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Dontel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Dontel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dontel leans strongly male. 199 people counted with this name were male (97.5%), compared with 5 female bearers (2.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Dontel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dontel is Black at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and White (3.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Dontel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dontel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (172 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dontel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dontel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dontel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Dontel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dontel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dontel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Dontel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.